Jeremy Lin excited to join Rockets, forever grateful to Knicks

2012/07/18 13:20:45

Taipei, July 18 (CNA) Jeremy Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Taiwanese descent, tweeted Wednesday that he is very excited to join the Houston Rockets again but will be forever grateful for the support given to him by the Knicks and New York over the past year.

The posting came shortly after the New York Knicks announced Tuesday (U.S. time) that they will not match the Houston Rockets' three-year, US$25 million offer for Lin, a restricted free agent.

"Extremely excited and honored to be a Houston Rocket again," tweeted Lin, who attended the Rockets' training camp for two weeks before being waived at the beginning of the 2011-2012 season.

The Knicks gave Lin his first shot, recruiting him after the Rockets released him early this year. He was briefly demoted to the development league, recalled and finally got his chance in February, when he led the struggling New York team on a seven-game winning streak.

Lin's spectacular breakout performance created the "Linsanity" media hoopla that helped boost the stock price for Madison Square Garden Inc., which owns the Knicks, and made Lin a household name among basketball fans around the world.

Although the Knicks decided not to exercise their right to match the Rockets' offer, Lin tweeted his love and thankfulness for the team and the New York fans.

"Much love and thankfulness to the Knicks and New York for your support this past year...easily the best year of my life," the 23-year-old Harvard economic graduate wrote.